NEW YORK – A federal court in New York says U.S. officials were obligated to give a Muslim scholar a chance to show he was no supporter of terrorism before barring him from the country.
Professor Tariq Ramadan had his U.S. visa revoked in 2004. He was about to take a job at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.
His applications for a new visa were denied on the grounds he had donated money to a charity that supported the Palestinian group Hamas.
The federal appeals court ruled Friday that it was legal for the government to refuse
Ramadan. But it said it had to give him the chance to prove he didn’t know his money would go to a terrorist group.
The case will now return to a lower court. Ramadan can reapply for the visa.
Associated Press – July 17, 2009
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